Chapter Five-I Don't Know

      Chloe looked at the restaurant. "No Lo So restaurant, my goodness," she breathed.

      "I've never been here either. I just thought we both might as well try it out," Lex told her.

      "Well, you're paying so I'm cool," Chloe said as they linked arms again and stepped inside.

      "Table for two?" The hostess asked.

      "Yes," Lex confirmed.

      The hostess led them to their table.

      "Thank you," Chloe said to the hostess.

      "You're welcome and enjoy your meal. Your waiter or waitress will be here shortly," the hostess said as she set the menus in front of them then left.

      Both Chloe and Lex combed through the menus. "God this stuff looks good," Chloe mentioned.

      "I agree. There is so much to choose from," Lex said.

      "The Rosemary chicken and potato pizza baked in lemon sauce sounds great," Chloe said, with wide eyes.

      Lex looked to the description of what she was talking about. "That does sound good. How about we share?"

      Chloe smiled. "Sounds good. Besides, if we don't I'll eat it all myself and feel guilty." She giggled.

      Lex smiled and started to stare at her again.

      "Something on my face again?" Chloe asked.

      Lex came out of his trance and to save face, he gestured that something was on her cheek. Chloe wiped it off and looked at her hands. "It fell on the ground I think," Lex said.

      "Thanks Lex. Man I'm just a magnet for stuff today," Chloe said.

      Lex laughed nervously. "Uh...so Chloe, how is college life treating you?"

      "It's great. I love college. It's a lot better than high school," Chloe said.

      Lex nodded. "College was definitely my place as well. High school was so full of people acting fake because they just didn't know who they were. They wanted to be unique yet they just wanted to be like their friends."

      Chloe looked at him with amazement. "That's exactly what I think. I couldn't have said it better."

      "So, why did you start smoking then?" Lex asked.

      The question startled Chloe. She had never thought about it. All this time she thought about how much she hated it when people did things that others did, but wasn't smoking the same thing? I mean kids in high school thought it was cool; the morons. So, why was she doing it?

      "Hi, I'm your waiter, John. How can I help you today?" He asked.

      Saved by the waiter, Chloe thought to herself.

      "Oh, umm..." Lex looked at Chloe. "It's a go for the pizza, right?

      Chloe thought for a second then said, "Yeah."  

      "We'll have one Rosemary Chicken and potato pizza. Could you bring two plates?" Lex asked.

      The waiter scribbled down the order. "One rosemary chicken and potato pizza. Yes, I'll bring you two plates. What would you like to drink?"

      "Oh, um, white wine," Lex said.

      The waiter looked at Chloe.

      "I'll have Pepsi. Do you have Pepsi?" She asked.

      "Uh, yes we do. One white wine and one Pepsi along with the pizza, correct?" John asked.

      "Yes."

      "Correct."

      "I'll have your drinks to you momentarily. The pizza will be about twenty minutes," he told them

      "OK, thank you," Lex said.

      Chloe just smiled.

      John left.

      Lex looked over at Chloe and said, "So, you don't drink, but you smoke?"

      "I'm too young to drink," she reminded him.

      "True. But, you started smoking when you were too young to do it," he pointed out.

      "Does it bother you that I smoke?" Chloe asked, with a smile.

      "No, no. It's not that. It's just I always figured you for the type to be against it," Lex told her.

      Chloe sighed. "You have me pegged correctly. I was against it. Then everyone always said how I was such a good girl and so dependable. I guess it made me kind of mad. I didn't want to do anything too extreme, so to start smoking seemed rebellious and not to extremish for me," Chloe told him.

      "Well, you should stop smoking," Lex said, honestly.

      "You're right. I should. All this time I spend smoking when I want and I just have to remind myself if I don't stop then when I'm older I'll be on a breathing machine even when I don't want to be," Chloe said.

      "That's a good way to look at it," Lex said. "So, would you give me the pack of cigarettes in your purse?"

      "Wow, you're really serious about me quitting smoking," she said as she handed him the pack.

      "I am. Thank you," Lex told her.

      "How do you know I don't have another pack at home?" Chloe asked.

      Because you can't afford to buy so many packs, Lex thought to himself. But, instead opted to say, "Something just tells me you don't."

      "Here are your drinks," John, the waiter, said as he set the drinks in front of them and left.

      "So, when are we going to start talking about your drinking?" Chloe asked.

      "Well, we could talk about it. But, it'd be a boring subject," Lex told her.

      "And why is that?" Chloe asked.

      "Well, because I drink only when I'm eating a fancy dinner and I only drink wine, which is proven to be good for your health," Lex said.

      "I see. I guess everything is OK then," Chloe said. "So, how was your Christmas?"

      Lex winced at the question. What should he tell her? Should he tell her how he spent Christmas all alone surrounded by gifts from people he couldn't remember the faces of and how they only bought him the gift because he was the boss and they wanted to be on his good side? Should he tell her how he had a small rotisserie chicken with mash potatoes for Christmas dinner? Or should he tell her that he sat all alone watching 'It's a Wonderful Life' until he fell asleep?

      Lex smiled at her. "I had a family Christmas party. My aunt cooked a really big dinner. It was great. I had fun. What about you?"

      Chloe wondered if she should tell him that she spent Christmas with Clark, but then she remembered she told him she had gone to Smallville. "I went to Smallville. I spent Christmas with my dad and my grandma. It was really great. We had lots of food! And we watched Christmas movies."

      "That sounds great," Lex said, sincerely happy for her. He knew he liked Chloe. Just seeing her again was like a breath of fresh air. But, he just didn't know how he'd be able to fit into her life. Besides, there was no way she felt the same for him. He was probably the charming rich guy acquaintance to her. Besides, she probably liked the small town boy type, the Clark type.

      "It really was," Chloe said. Chloe couldn't help but feel the growing likeness for Lex. I mean what was there not to like about him? Apart from the fact that he was incredibly handsome and suave, he was a nice guy, and disgustingly charming. But, she knew there was no way she could fit into his world. By the sound of his Christmas he seemed family oriented, but it was still a rich family and she was just a small town girl. Besides, there was no way he felt the same about her. She just knew he liked the hottie-type girl that always had her hair and makeup perfect, with the most expensive taste.

      "So, did you see Clark?" Lex asked.

      "Oh, um...yeah, I did. I told him I saw you and he was interested to know what you were up to now," Chloe said.

      "Well, we haven't really spoken since I left Smallville 3 years ago?" Lex said.

      "How come? Did you guys have a fight," Chloe asked.  

      Lex laughed. "Actually, there was no fight. I just decided it was time to leave Smallville."

      "Well then the question of the hour is; Why did you leave Smallville," Chloe asked.

      "Why did you leave?" Lex asked.

      Chloe shook her head, "Oh no. You're not going to get out of this one buster. I asked you first."    

      Lex smiled. "The truth is Chloe, Smallville is so...so..."

      "Small?" Chloe asked.

      "Yeah, small," he said with a chuckle. Lex continued, "Besides there is so much more beyond Smallville and I want to see what that is."

      Again Chloe was amazed at how in sync they are.

      Lex noticed her expression. "What? Did I say something?"

      "No, it's just that I felt that way about Smallville," Chloe told him.

      "So, is Metropolis the it for you?" Lex asked.

      Chloe thought about this for a second.

      "Here is your pizza," the waiter said as he set it in front of them then put down two plates.

      "Thank you," Chloe said.

      Lex smiled this time.

      Chloe took a piece of pizza.

      "So, you never answered my question," Lex said.

      "Oh yeah, well I was going to say that Metropolis is awesome...for now. But, I know that it'll only be a matter of time before I become restless again and want to see something else," Chloe told him.

      "I'll probably feel that way soon," Lex admitted.

      Chloe bit into her pizza. "Ohmigod, this is wonderful," Chloe commented.

      "I guess this wasn't a bad idea after all," Lex said.

      Chloe smiled, "No, not a bad one at all."

      To be continued...